Liga Mundo Season 32
Liga Mundo Season 32 ran from September 13, 2018 to January 13, 2019. League membership dropped by two teams to 52 as Arsenal FC and Waiyaki Wanderers folded prior to the start of the season. LM5 Quinta Liga and LM6 Sexta Liga each dropped a team and went with 7 teams each to compensate for the loss of the two folded teams - with their regular season ending a month earlier than the rest of the league. The only other change to the league structure was Equatorial Guinea renamed Le Invictus on September 2, 2018. During the course of the season, three managers were fired by their clubs: Stingray11214, the founder of RMI Armed Forces FC, was fired on October 24, 2018 after 27 seasons (and nine and a half years). Attack on Titan lost their manager on November 26, 2018. Cataduanes was fired on December 23, 2018 for the second time as manager of Estrella Roja. Attack on Titan lost their manager on November 26, 2018. Operations for all three clubs were taken over by the league authorities and wrap-up proceedings began for disbanding them at the end of the season. Final Standings Regular Season LM1 Primera Liga Statistics Leaders All-Star Team LM2 Segunda Liga Statistics Leaders All-Star Team LM3 Tercera Liga Statistics Leaders All-Star Team LM4 Cuarta Liga Statistics Leaders All-Star Team LM5 Quinta Liga Statistics Leaders All-Star Team LM6 Sexta Liga Statistics Leaders All-Star Team Costa Libertad Trophy (Team of the Month) The Costa Libertad Trophy for the Liga Mundo Team of the Month was inaugurated on June 1, 2012 as a team achievement award for all Liga Mundo teams. The trophy is named in honour of the former Cybernation Costa Libertad - which was the home of Liga Mundo's founder PremierApex. League MVP Mike Portnoy, the 28-year-old goalkeeper for The Wall FC, was awarded the Lois Luis MVP Trophy for his impressive backstopping performance in goal which help push his low goal-scoring team upwards into a respectable 5th place finish in the Segunda Liga. Portnoy's 66% save average and 9 shutouts in 18 appearances was a critical component for his team's success. All-Liga Mundo All-Star Team Manager of the Season This season's winner of the award for Liga Mundo Manager of the Season was Siegebreaker, the manager of Darkwraith. LIGA MUNDO MANAGER RANKINGS - TOP 5 *Darkwraith = 76,975 *Nordheim Badgers FC = 55,257 *Elkanemi Warriors = 54,838 *Dodo International = 51,768 *Kano Pillars = 48,472 Copa Cato XXV First Round Matches played on September 16 and September 23, 2018 *Pelikaninhos defeated El Diablos (1-0; 1-1) *Akwa United defeated Westcoast Coolers (0-0; 3-1) *Le Invictus defeated Attack on Titan (3-0; 3-0) *Aamir Khan United defeated African Pirates (2-0; 1-2 ET) *Lumleys Lads defeated Ocean´s Gold (3-1; 1-0) *Marseille FC defeated Ash United (2-0; 0-0) *Nordheim Badgers FC defeated Fulham FC (6-0; 2-1) *The Red Spartans defeated Ashie Road 11 (2-0; 1-0) *Atlético Melloria defeated Commandos FC (2-3; 4-1) *TP Mazembe defeated Transvaal Springboks (5-0; 5-5) *Sons of Kyuss defeated Swamplandia Sinners (2-0; 1-3) *Zwigwena FC defeated Anfield Road XI (1-1; 4-0) *The Fighting Sherms defeated Deutsche Vienna (2-0; 2-0) *Verde Maltas defeated Ugly Betis (3-1; 5-0) *Shamone FC defeated RMI Armed Forces FC (2-0; 6-0) *Northern Ultra Stars defeated Estrella Roja (2-0; 3-0) *Elkanemi Warriors defeated Sporting Los Angeles (2-2; 2-1) *Kyrpäjyrä defeated Bethlehem FC (2-0; 1-0) *Enyimba International defeated Atlético Del Mar (3-0; 4-1) *Gopher City Pippas FC defeated Galway City (2-1; 2-0) Second Round Matches played on September 30 and October 7, 2018 *The Wailers defeated Gopher City Pippas FC (4-2; 1-1) *AFC Merry Men defeated Enyimba International (2-2; 2-0) *Pera Club defeated Kyrpäjyrä (2-0; 1-1) *Darkwraith defeated Elkanemi Warriors (0-1; 1-0 PK 4-1) *TNFR Twilight Titans FC defeated Northern Ultra Stars (3-3; 3-2) *Amani Umoja FC defeated Shamone FC (1-1; 1-0) *Kano Pillars defeated Verde Maltas (2-1; 1-0) *Marathonians FC defeated The Fighting Sherms (4-0; 4-0) *Zwigwena FC defeated The Wall FC (2-1; 1-1) *Dodo International defeated Sons of Kyuss (2-0; 5-0) *TP Mazembe defeated Inglourious Fxckers (1-0; 1-1) *Atlético Melloria defeated Samba Boys (2-1; 2-1) *Pelikaninhos defeated The Red Spartans (2-0; 3-3) *Le Invictus defeated Marseille FC (2-1; 2-0) *Lumleys Lads defeated Aamir Khan United (2-0; 2-0) *Nordheim Badgers FC defeated Akwa United (2-0; 1-0) Third Round Matches played on October 14 and October 21, 2018 *The Wailers defeated Lumleys Lads (1-0; 1-0) *AFC Merry Men defeated Le Invictus (0-0; 2-0) *Pera Club defeated Nordheim Badgers FC (1-2; 1-0) *Darkwraith defeated Pelikaninhos (2-0; 0-1) *TNFR Twilight Titans FC defeated Atlético Melloria (2-1; 1-1) *Amani Umoja FC defeated TP Mazembe (1-0; 0-0) *Dodo International defeated Kano Pillars (2-1; 0-0) *Marathonians FC defeated Zwigwena FC (4-0; 2-1) Quarter-Finals Matches played on October 28 and November 4, 2018 *Marathonians FC defeated The Wailers (2-0; 2-0) *AFC Merry Men defeated Dodo International (0-1; 3-1) *Amani Umoja FC defeated Pera Club (1-0; 1-1) *Darkwraith defeated TNFR Twilight Titans FC (1-0; 0-0) Semi-Finals Matches played on November 11 and November 18, 2018 *Marathonians FC defeated Darkwraith (1-3; 2-0) *AFC Merry Men defeated Amani Umoja FC (0-0; 1-0) Copa Cato XXV Finals Matches played on November 25 and December 2, 2018 *Marathonians FC defeated AFC Merry Men (2-2; 0-0) Challenge Cup competitions JANUARY 11, 2019 - The Pippas and the Titans Real City, TNFR - As the club enters its 13th year, the Titans are now certified Teens. Teen Titans if you will. While this season marks only the third match-up in Primera between the club and its mostly-friendly rivals in the Gopher City Pippas FC (and yet another year of beating them), it perhaps serves as a suitable opportunity to explain and examine it in slightly more detail than ever before. Both clubs share a similar vintage. The Gopher City Pippas FC emerged in Season 18, with the TNFR Twilight Titans FC following suit the next year, having been exposed to the Liga through the Pippa's manager, Gopherbashi. And from their very first season, the TNFR team saw in the Pippas both a rival and a target; while in the early days they were a minnow, beating the Pippas meant beating someone that had been a minnow just that little bit longer than they had. And so, their position of 6th in Season 18 compared to the Twilight Titans leaping to 3rd in their Freshman season was strongly-celebrated by both the team and club - tied on points with the Pippas, but far exceeding them on for & against. That said, their head-to-head records were not as favourable, as the team dropped for a strong 1-1 draw and two Friendly wins to losing 5-3 away. Had the Titans won, they would have tied for second place, both on points and for & against, potentially forcing an away game tie break. And so, the rivalry began. TNFR Titan success was not to be continued the next season, though by a narrow margin, as the Pippas finished fourth to the Titans' fifth. A win and loss against the Pippas highlighted the narrow margin between the two. And sure enough, this continued in Season 21, as both teams raced each other to the finish, with the Pippas winning Tercera over the second-place Titans by a single point and trading home wins once again. Manager collapses kept both teams in the Tercera in Season 22, the season that marked TNFR's first promotion to the Segunda, first appearance in the Copa Cato quarter-finals and half the Tercera All-Stars wearing the team's Purple and Black. And their first time beating the Pippas at home in the League, with a 1-0 79th-minute header from Artur Gumilev, laid up by Lassana Demol during his second All-Liga All-Star season in a row. Season 23 marked the first of many splits between both teams, with only a single friendly match, won at home 4-2 by the Titans. This was followed-up when the Pippas followed them into the Segunda in Season 24, where it suffered the first true blowout loss; a 7-0 destruction by the Titans, split among 4 players. To date, this remains the record for the fixture in a season that saw the Titans win their first trophy via Copa Cato XVII and the Pippas crash out in last place. After the season, the fixture became the first Challenge Cup for both sides, cementing the legacy created during these first six seasons. Since Season 24, the Pippas have never exceeded the Titans in league position, though they have been far more competitive head-to-head than the respective team records would suggest, tying twice and winning once in a Season 30 that breathed new life into the rivalry as the two lined up on the ladder once more in season 31. With Season 32 coming to a close, the Titans have retained the Challenge Cup and maintained their league position record by leap-frogging them via a 3-1 win in their final match of the season. While the TNFR Twilight Titans may have achieved much more than the Gopher City Pippas over their thirteen years, their star has waned since the league merger as past stars like Lassana and Simão Argus that brought Cup success are long gone. However, expectations will be high on Cédric Preto to reach his potential after his recruitment - the most expensive transfer in Titans history. In fact, trading history of the two clubs is perhaps the best metric of the two's differences in strategy; the Titans have bought, sacked and sold far more than the Pippas, with their conservative approach to development. The question has to be asked; just how much have the Pippas been saving and when will they fund a proper run on the Primera? In Season 33, the fixture will live on. Pippas-Titans Challenge Cup VIII Matches played on September 13, 2018 and January 10, 2019 *TNFR Twilight Titans FC defeated Gopher City Pippas FC (1-0; 3-1) Team Pages *Estrella Roja *Gopher City Pippas FC *Transvaal Springboks Nation and Member Pages *Cataduanes *Gopherbashi *Transvaal (Botha)